HISTSCI 1350: Modern Life Science: From Pasteur to CRISPR

What do we mean when we speak of the “the modern life sciences”? In this course, we examine this question following Darwin’s revolutionary theories of evolution. We cover a range of topics spanning the late 19th to the early 21st centuries, including the emergence of the scientific laboratory; the development of disciplines such as bacteriology, virology, genetics, and molecular biology; and the promissory horizons of emergent bio(medico)technologies. In a time where scientific actions are both a source of rapid innovation and social suspicion, this course emphasizes how the life sciences and society profoundly shape one another.

Wednesdays at 3:00-5:45 PM with Professor Rijul Kochhar